Juvenile Court of Kos Acquits Somali Asylum Seeker of All Charges
Nov 4, 2024
KOS, GREECE — On October 24, 2024, the Juvenile Court of Kos, Greece, ruled that M.A., a Somali asylum seeker who entered in Greece as an unaccompanied minor in August 2021 and was charged with three crimes upon arrival, was not guilty of any of the charges.
M.A. was arrested upon arrival and was charged with criminal organization with the purpose of facilitating the unauthorized entry of third country nationals and the pursuit of financial benefit jointly with others, complicity in the facilitation of unauthorized entry of third country nationals to Greece by a perpetrator acting on a professional basis, and unlawful entry into the country.
“We welcome the court’s decision,” said Elli Kriona Saranti and Maria Spiliotakara, who represented M.A for HIAS Greece. “The criminalization of migration and human rights defenders must stop. They are being used as a decoy to deflect from the continuous lack of effective investigations into crimes against migrants at the borders.”
Upon arrival to Greece, M.A. offered his cell phone to another migrant traveling with him, who was also indicted for the same crimes, so that the latter could call an NGO that would help them ask for asylum in Greece and not be illegally pushed-back to Türkiye. Officials misconstrued this conduct as facilitation of illegal entry of third country nationals to Greece, committed by a criminal organization formed by M.A., two of his fellow travelers, and an unidentified smuggler from Türkiye. M.A. was also accused of illegal entry in Greece, even though the Geneva Refugee Convention provides that refugees shall not be penalized solely by reason of unlawful entry.
The Court was guided in its decision by a previous ruling of the Appeals Court of Dodecanese, which had already acquitted his adult co-defendants of these crimes. In particular, the Dodecanese Appeals Court determined that any assistance provided to third country nationals after arrival to Greece for the submission of an asylum application does not constitute facilitation of illegal entry. The Juvenile Court also found that M.A. did not commit the crime of illegal entry, because, as a refugee, he should not be penalized for unlawful entry.
